Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-05-27

| Slc ueISell, SuylllS J0dJ lue uGlNcr was WAu-
ing, and they went out to see her sister off.
"Dont forget your PROMISE" jess wills
pered to him, bending down as he helped her
into the cart, SO low that her lips almost
touched him and her breath rested for a sec
ond on his cheek like the ghost of a kiss.
In another moment the sisters had en-
braced each other, tcnderly enough; the
driver had sounded once more on his awful
| bugle, and away went the cart at full gallon,
bearing with it jess, two other passengers
| and her majesty's mails. John and Bessie
| stood for a moment watching its mad career,
as it went splashing and banging down the
| struggling street toward the wide plains be.
| yond, and then turned to enter the inn again
| and prepare for their homeward drive. As
they did SO, an old Boer named Hans Coetzee,
with whom John was already slightly ac-
| quainted, came up, and, extending an enor-
mously big and thick hand, bid them "Gooden
dag" Hans Coetzee was very favorable
| specimen of the better sort of Boer, and
really came more or less up to the ideal pct-
ure that is SO often drawn of that simple
pastoral people" He was a very large, stout
man, with a fine open face and IA pair of
kindly eyes. John, looking at him, guessed
that he could not weigh less than seventeen
stone, and he was well within the mark at
| that.
"How are you, captein" he said in English.
| for he could talk English well. "and how do
| you like the Transvaal?-must not call it
South African Republic now, you know, for
that's treason" and his eyes twinkled merrily
81 like it very much, meinheer," said John
"Ah, yes, it's beautiful veldt, especially
about here-no horse sickness, no blue
tongue and a good strong grass for the cat
tie. And you must find yourself very snug
at ON (Uncle) Crofts there; it's the incest
place in the district, with the ostriches and
all Not that l hold with ostriches in this
veldt; they are well enough in the Old Col
ony but they won't breed here-at least, not
| as they should do. l tried them once and
know; oh, yes, know"
Eyes, it is a very fine country, meinheer [
have been all over the world almost, and
never saw finer"
"You don't say so, now Almighty, what
a thing it is to have Travelled Not that
should like to travel myself. l think that the
Lord meant us to stop in the place he has
made for us. But it Is a fine country, and
dropping his voice. I think it is finer
country than it used to be-"
"You mean that the veldt has got tame. :
menheer"
now," he answered, mysterioungly, and
though dare not say so among my volli
hopo that it will keep English When | was
Republican, was Republican, and it was good
in some ways, the republic. There was SO
little to pay i'll taxes, and we knew how to
manage the black volk; but now / am Eng
lish, am English. l know the English gov
eminent means good money and safety, and
If there isn't Rad assembly now, well,
what does it matter' Almighty, how they
used to talk there! - clack, cack clack
just like an old black koran species of
bustard) at sunset And where did they run
the wagon of the republic to--Burgers and
those ID Hollanders of his and the rest
OF themF Why, into the sluit-into slut with
peaty banks; and there it would have stoned
TIL now, or till the food came down and
swept it away, if old Shepstone-ah! what a
tongue that man has, and how fond he is of
the kindeiches!-Qittle children)-had not
come and pulled it out again. But look here.
captein, the volk round here don't think like
that It's the 'verdomde Britlsch GOVERN
ment here and the 'verdomde Britisch
government there, and 'bymakaars' meet
ings) here and 'bymakaars' there. Silly
volk, they all run one after the
other like sheep. But there it is, CAP
TEN, and l tell you there will be
lighting before long, and then our people
will shoot those poor roobaatjes (red Jackets
OF yours like buck and take the land back.
Poor thingsl l could weep when think
of it."
John smiled at this melancholy prognosti-
cation, and was about to explain what Il poor
show all the Beers i'll the Transvaal would
make in front of a few British regiments
w an he tsrac el,al
in his friends manner Dropping his enor.
nous paw on to his shoulder, Coetzee broke
into burst of somewhat forced nerriment
the cause of which was, though John did not
guess it at the moment, that he had lust per-
ceived Frank Muller, who was in Walker
stroom with wagon load of corn to grind
at the mill, standing within five yards, and
apparently intensely interested in filming
at the flies with a cowrie made of the tail of
a vilderbeestc, but in reality listening to
Coetzee's talk with all his ears
"Ha, ha! 'nef " nephew, said old Coetzee
to the astonished John, "no wonder you like
Observation-Disclosures are other moot (pretty)
things there besides the water. How often
do you opsit (sit up at night with Uncle
Crofts pretty girl, eh? I'm not quite as
Dllnd as an ant bear yet. saw her blush
when you spoke to her just now | saw her
Well, well, it is a pretty game for a young
man, isn't it, nef' FRANKIE this was adj
dressed to Muller. an be bound the can
TEN here burns a long candle with pretty
Bessie every night-eh, Franks l hope YOU
amt jealous, 'nef'i My vrouw told me some
time ago that you were sweet in that di-
rection yourself" andhe stopped at last out
of BREATH and looked anxiously toward Null
Ter for an answer, while John, who had been
somewhat overwhelmed at this flow of bu
colo chaif, gave sigh of relief As for
Muller he behaved in a curious manner In
stead OF laughing, as the jolly old Boer had
intended that he should, he had, although
Coetzee could not see it, been turning blacker
and blacker; and now that the flow of
language ceased he, with a savage ejaculation
which John could not catch, but which he APP
peared TO throw at his Johns head, turned
on his heel and went off toward the court
yard of the inn.
"Almighty!' said old Hans, wping his face
with red cotton pocket handkerchief: II
a "a ~ UNNN To-. .s